What Do You Do When Your Brook Runs Dry Series

2008 Stretching to Serve Series Part IV: When Your Brook Runs Dry!

1 Kings 17: 1-16 If we stretch God wins! If we don’t we lose!

We continue to expound on our 2008 powerful theme “Stretching to Serve” by taking a close look at one person in the scriptures that epitomizes this kind of effort to serve God, in the midst of tremendous adversity, the Prophet Elijah. The late Dr. E. V. Hill, in his book, Victory in Jesus, states that one of the most exciting times to be a Christian is on one of those rare days when God is acting like we think God ought to act. You know He gives us what we want – when we want it – and how we want it. That’s when God is alright!

- We know just how God should answer our prayers, and

- We even know just when He should answer our prayers - NOW!

Why? Because we know just what is best for us!

• Well, I hate to rain on our parade this morning but the Word teaches us that God does not necessarily act the way we think He should act;

• And often times we must learn to trust and serve God even during “Dry brook experiences”.

You see anybody can stretch when you have a lot to work with; But God is wondering who will “stretch” when things are tight and resources are scarce:

Pastor – What is a dry brook experience?

- Definition: Those difficult times when the things we need and want in life are scarce. And yet in the struggle, in the scarcity - we “stretch” to serve Christ anyhow!

Every body has dry brook experiences:

- Abraham and Sarah had to wait 50 years before they received their seed of promise – their first and only male child, Issac: Abraham was 99 and Sarah was 90! …– Now that’s a stretch!

- Moses, after answering the call after his burning bush experience left his comfort zone; traveled back to a land where he was a fugitive; and told the most powerful man of his time, Pharaoh - God said “Let His people go!” - Now that’s a stretch! And watch this!

God did deliver this congregation from bondage in Egypt but Moses had to spend 40 years in the wilderness with a hard headed, faithless, murmuring, and complaining group of church folk: What a pastorate!

Get this: and He still missed the Promised Land! – Now that’s a stretch!

- Job an up-right man; worshipped God faithfully, a model believer - but he still lost everything he had in just one day! – Never-the-less Job still held on; and God restored him – Double for his Trouble. Now that’s a stretch!

- Daniel was a prayer warrior – and a bold believer but he got throne in the lion’s den for a noon day prayer – Now that’s a stretch!

- Ezekiel was a visionary preacher - but his first pastoral assignment from God was a bunch of dry bones Baptist church - Now that’s a stretch!

- Remember Hosea (a type of Christ) the preacher/pastor that God made him fall in love with a loose woman (a type of church); every time she stepped out on him the more he loved her – Now that’s a stretch!

o What about Mary? All engaged – the wedding invitations in the mail – the wedding dress all picked out – and she comes up pregnant – wait a minute – the baby daddy (I hate that term) …

Sorry- back to the story – Mary ends up pregnant and she has to tell her fiancé that it’s God’s baby – Now that’s a stretch! Thank God it was the TRUTH!

• Anybody here ever had something dry up:

o A relationship!

o Your job

o A friendship

o Your bank account

o A business venture

o Your marriage

o A dream or aspiration

o Even your relationship with God

Well, you are in the right place, today! Because I believe our text speaks to what to do - when your brook runs dry!

Context:

The prophet Elijah like many in scripture came along during a very sad time in Israel’s history. The people of God who had been delivered out of bondage - blessed by God to live in fine homes, to drink from wells they did not dig; to eat meat they did not grow - to inhabit land they did not own - had now turned their backs on God and started serving other gods; their leaders had created an atmosphere of total rebellion against God:

• Materialism

• Secularism

• Humanism

• Demonic spiritualism

See the later part of the 16th chapter: (Read)

• Ahab, the wicked king of Israel made three critical mistakes: